


After the Fact

by Pabis_Dream



Category: Fallout 4
Genre: Fallout 4 Spoilers, Fluff and Angst, Mid-Canon, Minutemen Sole, No Smut, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-24
Updated: 2016-01-27
Packaged: 2018-05-16 00:35:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,363
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5806438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pabis_Dream/pseuds/Pabis_Dream
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Sole Survivor returns from their first trip to the Institute. Hancock is troubled, to say the least.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. After the Fact

**Author's Note:**

> I'm trying a twoshot for once! Exciting, huh? Sorry the first half's so short. More to come soon.

Dawn’s light was just beginning to peek through the wispy clouds above when Hancock spotted the slow-approaching silhouette. He had been up all night, staked out on a rickety bench near the southern edge of Sanctuary. It had been agonizing. The crisp night cold he could handle, but Hancock had never had the patience for waiting. He hated being unable to do anything.                                                                

Hancock felt right away that something was off. For one, Sole was on their own—that couldn’t mean anything good. Get in, get Shaun, get out. While everyone was eager to find out more about the infamous Institute, that had been the main goal. Sole was finally supposed to reunite with their son. And yet...

Hancock shot off of the bench and bolted towards Sole. “Are you hurt? What _happened?”_                      

Sole shook their head. They looked horribly tired. Hancock frowned and pulled them into a tight hug, nestling his face into the crook of Sole’s neck.                                                                                               

Absorbed in his worry, Hancock had barely noticed the approach of Preston Garvey and Sturges. The former looked like he felt awkward, like he was interrupting something private. Sturges looked downright concerned. Hancock pulled away from Sole, looking sheepish. After a few moments, Sturges broke the silence.                                                                                                                                       

“Sole,” he asked gently, “did you find Shaun?”                                                                                                                              

The ground seemed to interest Sole very much at that moment. They didn’t look up.                                        

“Maybe you should get some rest, General,” Preston suggested. “We can talk about this later.”                           

Hancock took Sole by the hand. “Come on, Napoleon. You look worse than I do.”                                                  

Sole didn’t object to being led away from the scene. They were glad that they had gotten back when they did—they weren’t up to being interrogated by the whole town. They had never felt more like a two-hundred-and-something-year-old than they did right then.                                                                                  

As they headed towards one of the old houses, Hancock could feel the eyes of Sturges and Preston searing into their backs. He knew that those two must be dying to know what had gone down inside the Institute too. He silently thanked them for being considerate. Right now, Sole was the most important thing. Even though he itched with impatience to find out what happened, he could can it for their sake.                                                                                                                                                                                            

Sole didn’t say a word as they walked down the street, or when the duo was nudging their way through the worn-down doorway of a house. They stayed quiet as they trudged down the short hallway, eyes glazed over. It wasn’t until after they had crawled onto a bed and had received a sloppy peck on the cheek from their boyfriend that they spoke up.                                                                                                                  

“Hancock,” they murmured.                                                                                                                                                      

The ghoul, who was seated in a chair next to the bed squeezing his lover’s hand, looking over inquisitively. “Huh?”                                                                                                                                                                                      

“Shaun isn’t coming back.”                                                                                                                                                         

“I know. Try to get some shut-eye.”                                                                                                                                           

Sole looked like they wanted to say something else, but instead gave a quiet sigh and shut their eyes.                                                                                                                                               

Hancock’s brain raced as he sat next to his partner. What the hell had happened in the Institute? It wasn’t like Sole to look so…defeated. They had always seemed to have a constant drive. It wasn’t the same kind of fire that burned in, say, that woman Piper from Diamond City; she was openly passionate about what she did, and wasn’t afraid to let people know her intentions. Not that Sole was afraid. It was just…quieter. Their determination was always there, right under the surface. It burned softly in their eyes. Hancock was pretty sure that was what had drawn him to Sole in the first place.                                                               

But he hadn’t seen any of it that night. It was just gone.                                                                                                               

Was Shaun dead? Had he refused to leave? Maybe he had new parents now. Hancock scowled, frustrated. Like it or not, worrying wasn’t going to do him any good then. He got up and crawled into bed next to Sole, wrapping his arm around their chest. Their eyes fluttered open for a second, glancing up at Hancock. Then they gave a small smile and closed them again.                                                                  

The ghoul felt a sharp pain in his chest. He didn’t want this for Sole. They deserved the world. And sappy as he felt admitting it to himself, he wanted to give it to them. If he could just take the pain away…                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

Hancock sighed and pulled Sole closer. He’d need some chems tomorrow.              


	2. The Day After the Fact

“Hey, Hancock. Can we talk?”

The ghoul’s eye flickered open, snapping him out of his brief reverie. He let out the smoke from his lungs with a small puff. “Shoot.”

Preston, who seemed to have appeared from nowhere, sat down on the house’s makeshift porch next to Hancock. The afternoon sun burned overhead, leaving what remained of the skin on the latter’s face pleasantly warm. He flicked the ashes from his cigarette and shot a side glance at the other man.

“Sole’s still out?” Preston asked.

“Like a light. Probably a good sign.”

“You’ve got that right. Whatever went down yesterday, it left them more drained than I’ve ever seen.” He paused for a moment, leaning back against the shack’s wall. “Do you think Shaun…”

Hancock’s eyes narrowed in thought. “…Is dead? Don’t know. But something sure as hell ain’t right. Guess we’ll just have to wait for the rundown on things.”

Preston stood up and brushed off his coat. “I guess so. Sitting here guessing’s not helping anybody. Which,” he said, “brings me back to why I came over in the first place. We’re a bit short on hands right now and there’s a turret on the western side of town that’s gone haywire. It’s not shooting at civilians or anything dangerous—it’s just down. Sturges needs to take a look at it. Can you walk down with him and make sure nothing dangerous creeps up while he’s working?”

Hancock got to his feet and cracked his knuckles. He _could_ use a distraction from his thoughts. Not that he wouldn’t have helped if everything was okay.

“Sure, I think I can do that. Nothing’s gonna get the jump on your chief engineer with me on the lookout.”

Preston gave him an appreciative smile. “Thanks, Hancock. I’ll let you know if Sole wakes up.”

“Much obliged.”

* * *

 “Hancock,” Sturges mumbled, a wrench clasped between his teeth, “hate to be a bother, but could you toss me that screw over there?”

Hancock obliged. Things had been continuing more or less in this manner for the past twenty minutes or so—apparently there was more wrong with the turret than originally thought. This was one of the older of Sanctuary’s numerous defenses, and had spent quite a deal of time exposed to the elements (among other things). The main problem had revealed itself quickly enough; fried circuitry. But on top of that, Sturges had uncovered a few rusty cogs, some overly-weathered fiber optics, and a bent metal leg. Hancock didn’t usually mind playing bodyguard, but he was starting to feel restless. He itched to go check on Sole, even though Preston had promised to come when they woke up. What if the previous day’s occurrence had been too much for Sole? Maybe Shaun _was_ dead, and they felt responsible. Maybe they snuck out of Sanctuary out of guilt. Or worse! What if they ha-

Hancock forced his train of thought to a halt, irritated. Now he was just being irrational. Besides, Sole was stronger and braver than that.

Still, though, he felt anxious. He scratched behind his ear distractedly.

“There we go!” Sturges exclaimed, giving the turret, which had just hummed to life, a light slap. “All better. Held up real nicely, this one, for one of the originals. Most’ve been broken during fights by now.” He paused, looking Hancock over. “Hey, now. I know you’re bothered about yesterday, but everything’s gonna work itself out. Just you wait.”

Hancock cringed inwardly. “It was _that_ obvious, huh?”

“Well, yeah,” Sturges said with a wink. “But what good boyfriend _wouldn’t_ be worried sick anyway? I mean, really. You’d have to have no heart.”

The ghoul cracked a lopsided grin, turning to head back into the town’s center. “True enough. Thanks, grease ball.”

Just as he took a step, however, a shiny blur moved into view, approaching rapidly. Hancock immediately recognized the distinctive figure of Codsworth and gave a mock salute.

 _“Sirs,”_ the robot said in his heavily-accented voice. He was emitting noises akin to heavy breathing, like he’d just been running. Codsworth always gave Hancock a good chuckle. “Mr. Preston Garvey has sent me over to inform you that our Sole has awoken. Shall we head over together to see them?”

“Well, speak of the devil,” Said Sturges. “I think we will, Codsworth. Thanks for letting us know.”

“Oh, it’s _nothing,_ sir. Onward!”

Codsworth, apparently eager to return to his companion, took off down the street. Hancock bolted after him; Sturges jogged just a bit behind the two.

Although Sanctuary was big compared to some settlements, it wasn’t huge, and the group reached their destination quickly. The door to the small house had been left open, and voices drifted lightly from inside. The three edged inside.

Leaning against a wall in the crude kitchen area was Preston. He grasped a bottle of Nuka-Cola in one hand, sipping from it every so often. Hancock hadn’t noticed earlier, but he looked tired. He wondered vaguely if he hadn’t slept well the previous night.

And then, sitting at the dining table with a blanket draped around their shoulders, was Sole.

Although they looked better than before, they were still clearly worse for wear. Dark bags circled their eyes despite how long they had slept. Their eyebrows were pressed together in a hard line as they stared down at the tabletop. But as soon as they heard the ruckus, Sole’s eyes flew up, meeting Hancock’s gaze. The ghoul hurried over to the table and pulled a chair over next to his partner. He gave their shoulder a little rub and offered a small smile. Sole’s expression loosened, and they returned the look gratefully.

“Hey, good-lookin’,” Hancock said lightheartedly. “How’re you feeling?”

“Not great, but better,” Sole said with a tired sigh. They took his hand and squeezed it. “More so now that you’re here.”

“Oh, _dear,_ ” Codsworth exclaimed, unable to contain himself any longer. “You look _dreadful._ Is there _anything,_ anything at all, that I can do? If only we still had the kettle! I’d put on a spot of tea for you. But I suppose we’d need tea, too. Yes. Quite unfortunate.”

“Thanks, Codsworth. I’m really glad you’re here, too. We’ll have tea again someday. I promise.”

The robot seemed satisfied by that and gave an approving hum. Hancock nudged Sole.

“Hey, if you’re not feeling up to it right now, we can wait to talk. You should rest up first.”

“He’s right,” Preston agreed. “Your health should come first, general.” Next to him, Sturges nodded. But Sole shook their head.

“No,” they said. “I’d like to do this now. I don’t want you guys to be in the dark anymore.”

Sole leaned back in their chair and closed their eyes. They remained like that for a couple of seconds. The room was silent—only the chirping of birds and the gentle purr of the turrets outside could be heard. Then they re-opened their eyes abruptly and spoke.  
“When I went to the Institute,” they began, their finger tapping the table’s surface lightly, “I found a lot of things I wasn’t expecting to find. One of the first things I noticed was that there weren’t any people guarding the transport room. I was just thinking about how weird that was when he spoke.

“A man named who called himself ‘Father.’ He said he was expecting me. He wasn’t there in person, I mean—I just heard him over the intercom. He knew I was there for Shaun too.

“And he didn’t try and stop you?” Preston asked, eyes wide.

“No,” said Sole. “In fact, he led me right to Shaun.”

“Why would he do _that?”_ Hancock exclaimed. Sole swatted him on the arm lightly.

“I’m getting to that,” they insisted. “The corridors led to an elevator. I went through it. It was clear—I could see the facility through it. It was _huge._ There were so many people. I mean, I knew the Institute was a big operation, but…” they shook their head. “I guess I’m just so used to fairly small groups of people now. Maybe thirty-ish in a big settlement like Diamond City or Goodneighbor. It was just surprising to suddenly see that with my own eyes again.

“But then I was past that, and in another room. And I saw Shaun. I saw him and I thought, ‘he’s _right there.’_ But it…uh…” Sole paused to take a quick breath. “Well, it wasn’t him.”

They waited for a minute to see if anyone was going to speak up. When no one did, then continued.

“That guy, Father? He came into the room and spoke to me, face-to-face. He explained that the child in the room wasn’t Shaun—it was a synth designed to be like him. A prototype. And that, in reality…it was him. Father is Shaun. It hasn’t been ten years; it’s been sixty. And what’s worse? He’s the Institute’s leader. There’s no way he’s going to be swayed either. He was…painfully clear about that.”

Sole went quiet. Their hands shook, but they clasped them together to try to make it stop.

“He left me with a decision. Join him and work for the Institute, or return here and be a sworn enemy. I guess it’s obvious which way I went. So…here we are. Officially against that place.”

Hancock slid an arm around Sole. He’d known they were pretty fearless, but standing up to their own son like that? For the Commonwealth’s sake? For _his_ sake? He was in awe.

“That must have been painful as hell,” He murmured.

“Yeah,” Sole replied. “It was. It really, really was.”

Silence.

“But you know,” they said quietly, “for you, for everyone here, I’d do it again in a heartbeat.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wowie! My first non-oneshot. I'm surprisingly sentimental. Hahah. Also, I'm sorry about how long this is in comparison to the first chapter. Actually, no--I'm sorry about how short the first chapter is in comparison to this one. I got a little lazy on it. Regardless, I hope you enjoyed. Thanks for taking the time to read my stuff. Have a lovely day!
> 
> EDIT (6/29/17): So it's been like a year since I wrote this, and looking back, I made quite a few typos and all that, but I'm not all that dissatisfied with my general writing, so I'm happy about that. And omg I forgot how much fun I had writing Codsworth he's such a cheeseball. Beginner's guide to writing Codsworth: proper english gent to the point of ridiculousness and lots of italics  
> Also I have a Discord now that that's a thing and if you ever decide you wanna talk to me you can hmu through a private message. I love people


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